Explore the vast range of titles available.

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) regional securities market saw increasing activity in the last decade, but still fell short of supplying sufficient long-term financing for growth-enhancing public and private investment projects. In addition to providing an institutional background, this paper studies recent developments and the determinants of interest rates on the market-using yield curve and principal component analyses. It also identifies challenges and prospective reforms that could help the region reap the full benefits of a more dynamic securities market and assesses the potential systemic risk the market may pose for the region's banking system.

The green bond market is growing and becoming increasingly important in green finance and for the transition to a low-carbon economy. Still, the green bond market is to a large extent unstandardised. There is no commonly agreed definition of the term 'green'. This has been seen as one of the biggest challenges when it comes to the development of the green bond market. The need of a unified EU standard has been raised and as an effect the establishment of the EU Green Bond Standard is now in development. However, new standards might not only bring advantages, but also challenges. Striking the right balance of strictness might be hard. The research has been conducted through qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. Nine interviews were held during November and December 2020. The data was then analysed through thematic coding in order to find patterns of meaning. The results show that Nordic green bond issuers overall are positive towards the EU Green Bond Standard. The EU GBS has a good aim, to harmonise and enlarge the green bond market. However, the standard brings challenges that are to a large extent known challenges which the EU GBS aims to address, such as labour intensive reporting processes, lack of initiative and reputational risk. Also, it is argued that the standard is not fair and applicable for all the countries and companies. Countries national laws may not always go hand in hand with the standard. For example, the requirements for green buildings are seen as challenging in the Nordics. If these challenges are not taken into consideration, Nordic green bond issuers fear that the market will not grow, but instead decrease. Additionally, Nordic green bond issuers argue the adoption of the EU GBS is not a guarantee for issuers. Bigger institutes are seen to be early adopters. For other issuers investor requirement and positive impact on their company reputation is seen as the key drivers for adoption of the standard.

Green bond issues and markets are growing rapidly worldwide every year. Green bonds are used for financing environmentally friendly projects. Their issue is an important event in a company, with a huge impact not only on the protection of the environment but also on the management practice and financial performance of the company. This event is a signal to a stock market that is interpreted by shareholders differently: positively for eco-friendly investors and negatively for traditional investors, as it increases additional capital expenditures and financial risk. This paper aims to assess the short-term stock market reaction to the announcement of green bond issues in Nordic public companies and to determine whether the characteristics of green bond issues and issuers are significant determinants of stock cumulative abnormal return (CAR). The total sample was composed of 197 green bonds issued during 2017–2024. Sweden had the highest number of green bond issues (60.9%). Denmark and Finland had a very similar share, with 20.3% and 18.8%, respectively. The stock market reaction was assessed by applying an event study methodology. CAR dependence on the characteristics of green bond issues and issuers was determined using a heteroskedasticity-corrected regression model. The findings revealed a negative stock market reaction to the announcement of green bond issues. Such reaction may not only be due to increased capital expenditures and financial risk but also to the shift of investments from stocks to green bonds, as the majority of green bonds were issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukrainian war. We highlight that CAR is more sensitive to the characteristics of green bond issuers than those of issues.

This paper finds that systematic default risk, or the event of widespread defaults in the corporate sector, is an important determinant of equity returns. Moreover, the market price of systematic default risk is one order of magnitude higher than the market price of other risk factors. In contrast to studies by Fama and French (1993, 1996 ) and Vassalou and Xing (2004), this paper uses a market-based measure of systematic default risk. The measure is constructed using price information from credit derivatives prices, namely the spreads of standardized single-tranche collateralized debt obligations on credit derivatives indices.

The purpose of this research is to test the resilience of issuers to the financial pressure generated by the commitments made in connection with the issuance of debt instruments (bonds) and to identify issuers whose financial position and performance present the susceptibility of a major default risk. The research actions involved determining the indicators specific to the fundamental analysis, applying the classic insolvency risk assessment models (Altman and Conan Holder) and assessing the future evolution of the key financial indicators on the basis of the forecasts. The results obtained confirm or disprove the existence of significant uncertainties regarding the ability to repay the bond loans.

Growth remained strong in the region in 2012, with regional GDP rates increasing in most countries (excluding Nigeria and South Africa). Projections point to a moderate, broad-based acceleration in growth to around 5½ percent in 2013¬14, reflecting a gradually strengthening global economy and robust domestic demand. Investment in export-oriented sectors remains an important economic driver, and an agriculture rebound in drought-affected areas will also help growth. Uncertainties in the global economy are the main risk to the region's outlook, but plausible adverse shocks would likely not have a large effect on the region's overall performance.

The paper proposes a framework for examining the process of financial market development. The framework, consistent with the functional view of financial system design, is anchored in studying the incentives facing the key players in financial markets-borrowers, lenders, liquidity providers, and regulators-whose actions determine whether and how markets develop. While different financial instruments embody different concessions by borrowers and lenders, the framework emphasizes the two main compromises: the tradeoffs between maturity and collateral, and between seniority and control. The framework is used to analyze the sequencing of financial market development.

The private health sector was officially recognized in the Republic of Congo over 20 years ago June 6, 1988, establishing the conditions for the independent practice of medicine and the medical-related and pharmaceutical professions. The Congolese government recently expressed its commitment to working with the private health sector in order to strengthen the health system, improve the health of the population and preserve the basic human right to a healthy life through the National Health Care Policy, which it adopted in 2003, the 2007-2011 National Health Development Plan and the 2010 Health Care Services Development Program. Throughout these various documents there is an acknowledgement that the lack of coordination with the private health sector is a weakness of the health system. Nevertheless, the scarcity of information about the private sector in policy and planning documents suggests that the government's engagement with the private health sector is limited. There is no official government policy on the private health sector, or strategies or working plans to encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors. The objective of this assessment was to better determine the role, position, and importance of the private sector within the health system, in order to identify the limitations to its development as well as ways it can be integrated into the efforts to meet the objectives of the Plan national de developpement sanitaire (PNDS) [National Health Development Plan]. The World Bank Group contracted with the Results for Development Institute (R4D, United States) and Health Research for Action (HERA, Belgium) as well as with a team of local consultants, to conduct a 'study of the private health sector in the Republic of Congo.' This study was conducted in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population (MSP), which arranged and oversaw a steering committee consisting of actors from the public and private sectors to facilitate and guide the study. The goal of the study and the workshops was a concrete plan of action for the health sector that could be used by the Congolese government, the private sector in the Republic of Congo, and international development partners. Certain aspects of the action plan should be included in the work programs of the Programme de developpement des services de sante (PDSS) [Health System Development Project] for the years 2011-2013.

This report addresses the large flood exposures of Central Europe and proposes efficient financial and risk transfer mechanisms to mitigate fiscal losses from natural catastrophes. In particular, the Visegrad countries (V-4) of Central Europe, namely, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the Slovak Republic, have such tremendous potential flood damages that reliance on budgetary appropriations or even European Union (EU) funds in such circumstances becomes ineffective and does not provide needed cash funds for the quick response and recovery needed to minimize economic disruptions. The report is primarily addressed to the governments of the region, which should build into their fiscal planning the necessary contingent funding mechanisms, based on their exposures. The report is addressed to finance ministries and also to the insurance and securities regulators and the private insurance and capital markets, which may all play a role in the proposed mechanisms. An arrangement using a multi-country pool with a hazard-triggered insurance payout mechanism complemented by contingent financing is proposed, to better manage these risks and avoid major fiscal volatility and disruption.